A Bridge I Had Burned
by TheIrishShipperholic
Summary: AU. For the first time in 10 years since her mother's unexpected death from heart failure, Marley Rose is returning to assist Kitty and Quinn with the next generation of glee club members. What happens when she runs into Ryder, who's only gotten sexier with age?


**Title:** A Bridge I Had Burned  
 **Author:** Katie  
 **Disclaimer:** I own nothing but this story and my original characters  
 **Show/Movie/Book:** Glee  
 **Couples/Category:** Marley/Ryder, Kitty/Jesse, Quinn/Puck, others to be determined. Slightly alternate universe (AU)  
 **Rating:** M  
 **Summary:** AU. For the first time in 10 years since her mother's unexpected death from heart failure, Marley Rose is returning to assist Kitty and Quinn with the next generation of glee club members. What happens when she runs into Ryder, who's only gotten sexier with age?  
 **Author's Note:** I came up with this story because I wanted to see what life would be like for the glee club 10 years into the future, and I'm an avid Glee fan myself. I don't know who I'll pair Rachel up with yet, but I do know that she'll at least have some sort of plot mixed into the story.  
 **Chapter One**  
Slender hands reach out and brush the snow from the gravestone with her mother's name written above "beloved mother". "I know it's been a while, Mama, and I'm sorry," Marley Rose said. Her tone was soft as she spoke before she brought one hand up to wipe away her tears. In a soft voice, she began to sing:

 ** _I miss your tan skin, your sweet smile, so good to me, so right  
And how you held me in your arms that September night  
The first time you ever saw me cry  
Maybe this is wishful thinking  
Probably mindless dreaming  
But if we loved again, I swear I'd love you right  
I'd go back in time and change it, but I can't  
So if the chain is on your door I understand_**

 ** _But this is me swallowing my pride  
Standing in front of you saying I'm sorry for that night  
And I go back to December  
It turns out freedom isn't nothing but missing you  
Wishing I'd realized what I had when you were mine  
I go back to December, turn around and make it alright  
I go back to December, turn around and change my own mind  
I go back to December all the time  
All the time_**

Her singing came to an abrupt stop when a hand squeezed her shoulder and Marley turned to see Noah "Puck" Puckerman standing behind her. With a soft, warm smile and his voice deep, he said, "Hey, kid. I heard you were coming home."

Oh, that was right. Puck was married to Quinn Fabray, former cheer club member and now the cheer club coach. She and Kitty Wilde St. James had invited/asked Marley to help with their Christmas choir production. The Broadway actress had almost refused, but after a heavy discussion with her roommates and boyfriends Kurt Hummel and Blaine Anderson, she finally relented. "Yeah, I just got here an hour ago," Marley responds as she got to her feet to join Puck. The pair head toward their vehicles parked outside the gates and fence which surround the cemetery.

With one final glance, Marley opens the driver's door of her car and whispered "so if the chain is on your door, I understand". Then she eases down into the driver's seat, shutting the door behind her. Marley follows Puck to the home that he and Quinn recently built. It had enough room for them, their kids and four rooms used for guests. Marley had been the first one since they moved into the house, but she knew she wouldn't be the last.

The strap of his guitar case hoisted higher over one broad, muscular shoulder, Ryder Lynn eases down off the last step of the bus and looks around. Lima, Ohio was definitely ready for the Christmas holiday. He was only here to participate in the Christmas concert after being talked into it by Jesse St. James. Heading toward the square, Ryder pulls out his cell phone but stops in his tracks when he glances over to see a familiar set of hazel-green eyes from behind the windshield of a car. SHE was here. Since when and for what purpose? Had she been brought to town the same way he had? Instead of sending a text to Jesse, Ryder dials the other man's number. Jesse picks up, a smirk curling his lips. "Ryder, my man; what can I do for you?"

"Did you know she was coming to town, Jesse?" Jesse hesitates a bit and Ryder sighs while running his free hand through his hair. "What is she here for?"

"Kitty and Quinn asked her to help with the Christmas pageant production for the glee club," Jesse replied honestly. His adoring wife might kick his ass for telling the younger of the two men about Marley coming to town but Ryder wouldn't have come if he knew the truth.

At the Puckerman house, Quinn held a hair brush in one hand while the other one had an elastic hair tie wrapped around three of her fingers. Her oldest daughter Beth sat in front of her, one half of her hair in a French braid. Behind the blonde and running around excitedly were the twins, Finley and Garrett. Quinn turns and yells once she hears the familiar rumbling of her husband's truck engine, "Daddy's home!"

The twins – one with blonde hair and the other dark hair – ran toward the living room "Daddy's home, Daddy's home!" released in excited squeals. And then Quinn & Beth were surprised when it was followed with "Auntie Marley is here!" Quinn abandons her task of fixing her daughter's hair to rush down the hall toward one of the guests room. Rushing around, she pulled back the covers after putting the extra pillows in the hall closet. Once finished with that task, she ran down the stairs to sweep Marley into a fierce embrace.

"I thought you weren't coming until tomorrow!" the blonde gushes before pulling back from the embrace.

Marley shakes her head. "Kurt and Blaine arranged to get me on an earlier flight. And the latest play wrapped up a week ago, so..."

Quinn nods. "Well, welcome to the busy as ever Puckerman house," she said, sweeping her arm around the house's interior.

The younger of the two women smiles before glancing over at Puck as he carried an upside-down Garrett. "Babe, what are we having for dinner? I see a delicious-looking piece of meat right here," he said with a teasing grin.

"Daddy, that's silly! Garrett isn't a piece of meat," Finley said. Her statement made her parents and godmother burst into laughter until there were tears in their eyes.

"Daddy is just being silly, baby," Quinn said as she picks Finley up in her arms. Finley nods, wrapping her arms around her mother's neck.

Marley smiles as she watches the mother and daughter. And it made her wonder if she'd ever get to experience that one day. A soft, swift knock to the front door interrupts her thoughts and Marley turns to open it. Shock flickers across her face when she saw who it was. "Marley, it's been a while." His voice had gotten deeper and a lot hoarser in the last decade, and it sent a shiver down along her spine.

"It has been a while, hasn't it?" Marley asks then quickly makes her escape upstairs after grabbing her suitcase from the car. A heavy sigh escapes her once she's finally alone in the guest room. Marley was conflicted and she was no longer 18. She couldn't keep running from the feelings that seemed to claim her in a rush. Letting out another sigh, she carries her suitcase over to the fairly large bed and hoisted it up onto the recently pulled-down covers. Marley opens the suitcase and reaches beneath her clothes to pull out her yearbook, which she flips through until she finds what she's looking for.

"Marley, can I come in?" the brunette heard Quinn ask in a soft voice from the other side of the door. Marley quickly hid the yearbook under the covers of the bed before getting up to let Quinn into the guest room. "What was that about in the other room?"

"What do you mean?" Marley asks as she began to unpack. Quinn moves to block her during one trip to the dresser, meeting the glare from the brunette head-on with one of her own. "I haven't seen him since we were 18, Quinn. How am I supposed to react?"

"You could start by not reacting the way that you did in front of my children. You could also tell me what happened between the two of you ten years ago," Quinn said firmly.

"He was there for me on the night I found out about Mom," Marley said. Her tone is quiet as she spoke, tears unexpectedly pooling at the corners of her eyes. Quinn steps forward and embraces Marley gently. "He comforted m-me, but when I woke up the day after the funeral, all that I saw was a note in his handwriting. I headed straight to New York without looking back. And now here we all are, 10 years later."


End file.
